On July 12, 2014, Douglas Trudeau, a Realtor with Tierra Antigua Realty in Tucson, petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) for an exemption from certain federal regulations to allow him to operate his PHANTOM 2 Vision + quad copter unmanned aircraft system (UAS) or “drone” to conduct aerial videography and cinematography “to enhance academic community … [Read more…]
So, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the beleaguered government sponsored agencies, which were seized by the US government during the financial crisis, recently announced programs to back loans to low and moderate income borrowers who would only be required to put down three percent, a two percent reduction in what Fannie and Freddie have required. … [Read more…]
A recent article by Jann Swanson of the Mortgage News Daily reports on a troubling “tetrad of housing landmines” that could usher in a new wave of foreclosure activity. Pulling from a from Octavio Nuiry’s Housing Landmines: Are Mortgage Flare Ups Coming Soon?, Swanson reports that while foreclosure activity is waning nationwide, a new wave … [Read more…]
David Dayen of the liberal New Republic recently reported on a speech by Mel Watts, the chairman of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which has served as the conservator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac since the financial crisis. Dayen argues that Watt “signaled to mortgage bankers that they can loosen their underwriting standards, … [Read more…]
Here are some sobering figures from John Burns Real Estate Consulting on how the meteoric rise in student loan debt is having a very appreciable effect on the housing market. Student debt has ballooned from $241 billion to $1.1 trillion in just 11 years. 29 million of the 86 million people aged 20–39 have some … [Read more…]
A recent article by Michael Booth in the admittedly conservative online magazine American Thinker posits that the much of the blame for the housing crisis can be traced to the Democrat’s “affirmative credit” policies. Booth argues that the naming of Michael Raines as the CEO of Fannie Mae turned Fannie Mae into a Democratic “campaign … [Read more…]
It is interesting that some attribute the phrase “Monkey on my back” to an older phrase: “Monkey on the roof,” which referred to one’s mortgage. Well, call it a monkey or a 900-pound gorilla – either way – Bank of America just loosed some kind of opposable-thumb animal from its back. One troubling aspect of … [Read more…]
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced a massive global settlement between Bank of America and the US Justice Department, other federal agencies (including the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Housing Administration, and Ginnie Mae), and six states, to resolve claims connected to toxic residential mortgage-backed securities, collateralized debt obligations and an origination release … [Read more…]
When an owner of real property in Arizona fails to pay her real property taxes, the County Treasurer will offer to investors the opportunity to purchase a tax lien against the real property in the form of a Certificate of Purchase. The successful bidder for the tax lien pays the delinquent taxes, fees, and penalties, … [Read more…]
Bloomberg Businessweek recently reported that a growing number of Americans aged 50 and older still have not paid off their student loans. While people aged 50 and older hold only 17% of all student loan debt in the United States, this group has nearly three times as much debt as it did in 2005, according … [Read more…]